But it just isn't working, Trudeau is still much more popular than he is.

So I'm not surprised that our shabby Con media is doing what it can to help him.

But who knew that the old Con fluffer John Ivison would offer him some tips on how to win the support of millennials?Maybe the new Conservative leader just needs a nickname to make him sound tougher and more charismatic. How about “Icebox” or Andrew “Interesting” Scheer?Because as I pointed out the other day, a new Abacus poll shows that "Icebox" has his work cut out for him.

His biggest detractors were among the millennials who will make up the largest cohort of eligible voters at the next election. According to an earlier Abacus analysis, the Liberals won the election in 2015 because they had twice as much support as the Conservatives among millennials. Their dominance is only likely to grow.Millennials don't like or trust him, and he can't even reach them to try to get them to change their mindsIt’s fair to say the father of five is not an early adopter of social media — he has just 46,000 followers on Twitter (compared to Trudeau’s 3.78 million) and he always looks slightly sheepish in photo opportunities, as if he’s intruding into someone else’s shot.They just don't like religious fanatics, bigots, creepy misogynists or homophobes, and even if Scheer borrows a dress from Jason Kenney and turns up at a Gay Ball, I doubt that would make much difference...

I think that would just look...um...desperate.But then I think Ivison's plan to have Scheer "triangulate" Trudeau by pretending to be greener than him, and supporting a revenue-neutral carbon tax is equally desperate.It would not be easy. As former Bill Clinton adviser Dick Morris said in his book Power Plays, departing from a party’s traditional ideology is “a bit like kicking the bottle,” requiring a leader to “daily assert his determination to blaze a different trail.”
But two-thirds of millennials in one poll said they would not even consider supporting the Conservatives, and that is unlikely to change unless the Tories have a credible policy on climate issues.And quite frankly makes me question Ivison's sanity for at least three good reasons:Reason number one:

Reason number two:

And of course, scary reason number three...

The deranged Jason Kenney would probably murder him eat him alive if he did come out in favour of a carbon tax.So really what can I say? Except that reality bites.Battling the gravitational pull of the party’s traditional opposition to “a tax on everything” would be a major departure for a leader who prefers consensus over conflict. But as Greenspon and Adams pointed out, the Conservatives find themselves offside with millennials in the run-up to a 2019 election in which this rising generation will eclipse the boomers as the largest voting bloc in Canada.And isn't this sad?

Poor old Gasper and those other Cons just don't get it. So let me explain it to them: Because Andrew Scheer is such a lousy candidate, and such a filthy fascist, and such a threat to the future of this country.The millennials are going to join with others, crush him beyond recognition, and send him back to the hellish place he came from.So Justin Trudeau can do what they command...

And finish the Cons off forever.Oh yeah, one more thing.Don't be too harsh on poor old John Ivison, because he is desperate...

So like so many members of our Con media he sometimes forgets the difference between being a journalist and a propagandist. Or a Con stooge.Also please have mercy on him because he comes from Glasgow, where I learned to fight with a knife.And the boys, or the chavs as we call them, wear the scars on their faces proudly.So he could have turned out even worse...

Luckily I only have a scar over the place where a switchblade removed my appendix eh? So as I said, spare a thought for Ivison, because he could have lost his head BEFORE he came to Canada.But whatever you do, don't show the Con media any mercy.Because they don't deserve it...

Hi jrkrideau....On second thoughts maybe I was a bit too kind to Scheer, after all even though I'm an atheist I'm more of a Christian than he is. But I'd feel sorry for anyone who managed to flush their reputation down the toilet in just five months. Not that Scheer had much of a reputation, but now he isn't much more than a serial liar and a political pervert....

Hi jrkrideau....now, now let's not be snarky. ;) That comedian is exaggerating the Glaswegian dialect, and I had trouble understanding what he said, even though I've run that clip once a year for ages. However, having said that, the Glasgow dialect is even for many Scots the hardest one to understand. I'll never forget when my French-Canadian buddy Seb first visited Glasgow and somebody said something to him and I could see he couldn't understand a word. It more than made up for the times when I was in rural Quebec and found myself in the same situation....

I can't believe there are people selfish enough to try and "out-vote" their children and grandchildren. They don't care about leaving the world a better place for them? "Get off my lawn, you damn kids"? They'll be dead within the next 20 years and won't be around to see it, so why not leave behind an "inheritance" of a kinder society with cleaner air and a "much more bigly" improved economy? Don't they realize "you can't take it with you"?

What's worse is that the cons are so divisive and aim to pit Canadians against each other -- young vs. old, battles of the sexes, gay vs. straight, whites vs. nonwhites, even a religious holy war isn't beneath them. Trudeau almost goes overboard in being sympathetic to the people who hate him with a passion, but that's just who he is. Immediately after the last election when his voters were ready to go after Harper's constituents with torches and pitchforks, he had to remind them that "the 11 million people who voted for Stephen Harper aren't your enemies; they're your neighbours." Can you imagine Harper having said or done something like this? Or Trump, who is still pandering to his base that wants to persecute their political rivals and "lock 'em up" even as he's the one who's likely to end up facing charges?

Clearly Justin Trudeau and the Liberals want a more inclusive Canada that's welcoming to all. Andrew Scheer and the cons are nothing but petty, shit-disturbing troublemakers who only care about "winning, so much winning" and not about what's best for Canadians outside their rabid, white and apparently, mostly geriatric base. 'Course there's outliers, and no group is a monolith -- there's Dane Lloyd millennials and plenty of older and non-selfish Liberals -- but judging by the aggregate, it's obvious who primarily wants to benefit their "friends" and shut everyone else out.

Oh, and BTW, speaking of young and looking forward, I thought you should see this, Simon, if you haven't already. Trudeau was at a conference with some of the top minds in computer science, where the subject was how to use A.I. to build a better society -- for everything from healthcare to transportation to education -- while not having it turn into a hostile and terrifying Skynet.

Google has tapped Toronto as one of its biggest hubs for A.I. development, having announced a "Go North" program encouraging investment in Canada because America's policies against science, immigration, and basically anything else conducive to a functioning democracy, don't exactly make for a fertile playground for innovation. But Canada's do -- and PM Spock was more than willing to roll out the red carpet and welcome them in.

Let's see the regressive Dominionist, who probably believes the earth is 6,000 years old and wants to build a bridge to the 18th century (B.C.E.), get a ringing endorsement from one of the top 5 tech juggernauts in the world. Trudeau the proud Trekkie is going to turn Toronto into the headquarters of the Federation of Planets. Scheer is mirror-universe Captain Jerk, and his party shows no signs of intelligent life.

Hi anon....thank you for the links, and for another cultured and interesting comment which like all the others is such a pleasure to read. The way the Cons try to pit one group of Canadians against the other has always disgusted me, and Scheer is doing more of the same. I have always tried to get people of all ages and backgrounds to work together in a progressive coalition that will crush the right once and for all...

Only at Postmedia could a reporter offer free advice to an opposition leader on how to become more popular. Once again that failing organization has shown itself to be nothing but a propaganda arm of the Conservatives. Ivison should be ashamed of himself, and as far as I am concerned the sooner Postmedia goes down the better.

Hi anon....I agree, and I'm surprised that others haven't criticized Ivison for effectively setting himself up as Scheer's political adviser. Postmedia has dropped any pretense at being a journalistic organization. It seems incredible to me that they would remain so right-wing in a country where the right occupies only about 30% of the political spectrum. I guess they have a death wish, and may it be granted as soon as possible....

Hi Simon, I loved that video at the end, but is Glasgow really that dangerous? Some friends of mine visited the city two summers ago and they had a great time. I was thinking of visiting it one day, but now I'm not so sure.

Hi anon...no, Glasgow is not as dangerous as that video suggests. I was just trying to have some fun, and that comedian is just satirizing the reputation the city once had. There are still a couple of tough residential neighbourhoods you might want to avoid late at night, especially if you are wearing the jersey of a rival soccer club. But for the most part Glasgow is a city well worth visiting. It was once one of the richest cities in Britain, and it's full of amazing buildings, and museums, as well as great shops and restaurants. It's also a great jump off point for the beautiful islands off Scotland's west coast, so go and enjoy....

Why doesn't Ivison stop pretending he's a journalist, and just join the Cons? That has to be one of the stupidest articles I've ever read. Trying to turn a Con green? I would save those videos in case the "miracle" actually happens.

Schmear's latest salvo saying JT is "linked" to the paradise papers is utterly ridiculous and shows a clearly desperate Con grasping at straws. Even his Con media hacks can't save him now. As they grow increasingly more outrageous in their reporting they are turning off anyone other than their meat-head base and there are not enough of them to save their pathetic Con media.I look forward to the day when we no longer have our senses assaulted by these clowns posing as "journalists". We'll be able to judge our leaders by their actions and not by the distortions and outright lies of a tabloid rag. But then again, it seems the Millenials already have.JD

Hi JD....yes isn't Scheer's latest smear disgusting? Trying to link Trudeau to the Parasise Papers when there is no link. Schmear really is a disgusting political pervert. Judging from what I'm reading on Twitter Canadians are losing patience with the Con media. You can only fool so many for so long, and their corruption is showing. We need to redouble our efforts to expose those Con swine. I'm ready and I know you are,,..😎

Hi anon....I don't have an answer, especially since Ivison is capable of being so much better than that. My guess is that with all the layoffs at the National Post he in a survival mode, and believes that being as right-wing as possible will help save his job. It's sad, but it shouldn't be surprising. The right corrupts everything it touches....